This summer I bought myself an amazing birthday present. Why? Because I’d been eyeing one for a few years and decided that I deserved to treat myself… a beautiful Cricut Explore Air 2.

Isn’t she a beauty?

Anyhoo, I’ve been experimenting with paper cuts and vinyl too. Loads of fun but it could easily become a serious and expensive addiction.

I made her even more beautiful!

H’s water bottle

H’s class all received identical water bottles and I’m completely grossed out by the thought of drinking from someone else’s glass or bottle and I DO NOT share cutlery – even with my kids. So it’s a no-brainer that I’d have to clearly indicate which one is hers. It was my first time doing a project with vinyl. Not too shabby!

Inks & Thinks isn’t the only thing I’ve been neglecting to update. My Goodreads feed shows a book I finished back in Sept and I’ve read tonnes since then…but, you guessed it, haven’t updated that either! And although things have changed since my last, long ago post, I still love quotes, so here goes.

“For a really long time, I thought being different was a negative thing. But as I grew older, I started to realize we were all born to stand out; nobody is born to blend in.”

Just realized that I haven’t posted in almost a year! Clearly my time is going by very quickly. Can’t say that I’ve accomplished anything major in the past year or even created any cards/scrap pages worth posting. Guess I should clean my craft area and get back to it.

It’s been ages since I’ve posted…not much to say I guess. Anyhoo, I was going through my uploaded photos and found a few that weren’t attached to any posts so I thought I’d show you a couple. Never mind that the wedding card I’m posting was made so long ago that the bride and groom have a bouncing baby boy already! I used the bride’s chosen colours for this.

(I’m having issues with this pic. It will show if you right click and open in new tab!)

So here they are after over 1 and a half years!

Hey, if you are into digital scrapbooking and would love a free kit go to Design House Digital for their gret blog hop and collect the coupon code letters on the way to download a beautiful kit for FREE!

Now I must go, see you in a few days, weeks or months, I can’t really say!

Hey, here’s another freebie for paper crafting thanks to mymemories.com but only until Jan 14th! Although these say they are for pie, seriously, do you have anyone you love so little that you’d just give them one slice? Once filled with cool things, they’d be great as a goodie bag for a girls’ party or a teacher gift.

Pie Box Tutorial

1. Print your file on cardstock. To create a pie box, you will need one base and one top. Gather necessary supplies. (Recommended supplies: ruler, scissors, glue, bone folder with pointed tip) Be sure to set your margins as close to zero as possible when printing.

2. Using the bone folder score from the top tip down to each of the corners. There should be 3 fold lines forming a triangle on each piece. Also,
score the small tabs on the box sides.

3. Cut out all of your box pieces.

4. Fold on the fold lines. Folds should all be folded in towards the white side of the paper.

5. Place glue on all the small flaps.

6. Bring base and flap up and glue in place. Repeat all sides. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 for lid.

7. Enjoy your pie box.

8. Multiple boxes can be made to look like a pie by placing the centers together.

Do you kill your own tree for Christmas or buy it at the hardware store? Put up a plastic one complete with frosting and pine scent? Or simply use the biggest branch the last windstorm dropped in your backyard?

Pretty in pink?

You know you want to!

Whose house? I know!

But hey, no matter how you celebrate, everyone loves a freebie! So here’s another time limited seasonal decor item thanks to mymemories.com. Get it before Christmas Eve.

1. Print your file on cardstock. To create a 3 layered tree, you will need one base, one middle piece, and one top. Gather necessary supplies. (Recommended supplies: ruler, scissors, glue, bone folder with pointed tip) Be sure to set your margins as close to 0 as possible.

2. Using the bone folder score from the top tip down to each of the 3 corners. There should be 3 fold lines from the tip on each piece. Also, score the bottom triangle of the base.

3. Cut out all of your tree pieces.

4. Fold on the fold lines. Folds should all be folded in towards the white side of the paper.

5. For top and middle pieces, place glue on the flap and glue together to form a pyramid.

6. For the base piece, apply glue to both flaps.

7. Bring small triangle base up and glue in place.

8. Attach the side tab to the inside flap to form a pyramid.

9. Stack tree pieces, as desired. These trees can be made using 1, 2, or 3 layers per tree.

These are free downloads but the stars are only available ’til the 10th so get them NOW! These 3D Stars are great to hang as decorations on stairs or shrink them down and use them to decorate your Christmas Tree.

The key to these stars is to make sure that you have a total of 10 cone shapes to put these together. You can mix and match the patterns, but you need 10 of the same size to get a finished 3D star.

“I love the stars.
Because they can’t say anything.
I love the stars.
Because they do not judge anyone.”
― Natsuki Takaya